The latest prestige films, the ones usually relying on older viewers draws a surprisingly larger share of the 18-to-34 demographics.
The wrestling drama The Iron Claw has quietly grossed $31.5 million at the box-office since its Christmas launch, a fortune for an indie in the post-pandemic age and one of the best showings ever for distributor A24.
It is not the only specialty movie doing impressive business these days thanks to a powerful new ally: younger adults.
For years, art house movies relied on moviegoers over age 35 or 40. But that relationship collapsed during the COVID-19 crisis and has yet to be fully restored.
At the same time, the 18-to-34 crowd started snubbing once-surefire genres like superhero fare and began venturing beyond their comfort zone. “
Also, people are realizing that streaming is leveling off. There’s less good content to watch at home,” adds Neon distribution chief Elissa Federoff.
The film has grossed an impressive $18.8 million to date since its October launch, and is being rereleased in theaters over the Jan. 27-29 weekend after earning Oscar nominations, including best picture and best actor.It has earned more than last year’s best picture contender The Fabelmans, by maestro Spielberg nonetheless, which topped out at a meager $17.3 million domestically.
On the opening weekend of Iron Claw — starring Zac Efron and The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White as the Von Erich brothers of wrestling fame — more than 60 percent of tickets buyers were 35 and under, including some in ages 18 and 24. The heart-wrenching movie went viral due to its cast, which also includes Harris Dickinson, and became TikTok sensation when people rushed to post videos of themselves crying.
The more traditional specialty distributors, including heavyweights Focus and Searchlight, are also benefiting from the boon as more and more younger adults discover specialized cinema.
On its Dec. 8 opening, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Victorian era-set Poor Things, from Searchlight, saw 70 percent of ticket buyers under 35, followed by 66 percent on the second and 58 percent on the third. It has earned an impressive $21.4 million to date, and boasts 11 Oscar nominations, the most of any film behind Oppenheimer.
But Poor Things is a genre-defying film about sexual exploration and female freedom, and stars Oscar winner Emma Stone, which certainly helped skew younger.
Even The Zone of Interest, a Holocaust drama (and another A24 title), is drawing a younger audience. “For a movie of this subject to have more than half of the audience under 35 is noteworthy and encouraging.
Last year’s specialty films — The Fablemans, The Banshees of Inisherin, Tár and Armageddon Time — all played older and were more traditional, whereas some of this year’s movies could play younger while still playing to older review-driven audience,” notes an insider.
Fellow best picture contender American Fiction is playing to both younger and older audiences, similar to Zone of Interest. On its opening weekend, 40 percent of ticket buyers were under the age of 34.
The uptick at the specialty box office is noticeable when looking at the domestic grosses of many of the specialty films competing in the last year’s Oscar best picture race: The Banshees of Inisherin ($10.6 million), Tár ($6.8 million), Women Talking ($5.4 million) and Triangle of Sadness ($4.6 million).
The big exception of course was A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once ($77.2 million).
Poor Things will boost its locations from 1,400 to 2,200 cinemas. A24 is still going slow with The Zone of Interest and will up the film’s location count from 82 to north of 300.
Amazon MGM Studios theatrical distribution chief Kevin Wilson handled two specialty movies that appealed primarily to younger adults, Bottoms and Saltburn, which each grossed roughly $11 million last year in North America, a solid showing for these times.
“We’re starting to see young cinephile audience searching for more unique content,” says Wilson. The exec also credits up-and-coming new generation of stars, such as Saltburn‘s Barry Keoghan.
Alamo Drafthouse has helped fuel this trend by providing enticing and fun environment.
Also, loyalty programs offered by the big circuits are making it less cost prohibitive to go to the movies more frequently.
Source: Hollywood Reporter, Variety.
